Leaves Underfoot

Leaves Underfoot
            The best autumns growing up in the Adirondack foothills featured brilliant crimson maple leaves bursting out from a haze of orange, but years when yellows and browns dominated because the temperature didn’t drop as sharply were still beautiful.
            The temperate climate of the San Francisco Bay Area means that our fall foliage colors are more subtle, but the smell of leaves and soil under my hiking boots still brings a wave of that magical autumn feeling.
            I wonder if the sight, smell, and sound of leaves crunching underfoot brings a wave of emotional memories to my severely autistic son with his extremely sensitive sensory system. Though he’s unable to verbalize it, his increased calm and focus tells me he finds some sort of peace out on a trail.
            May we all find things in our environment that bring comforting memories. Keep putting one foot forward!
            This week’s HikingAutism Hike Notes from the archives is Tucker Trail, a forest trail on Mt. Tam filled with visual treats.
 
This week’s Hike Notes from the Archives:
(Original Hike Notes 117): Tucker Trail
 
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